Hockey teams take Olympics postponement in stride

Skippers Manpreet and Rani continue to look at the positives

Looking ahead: Captains Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal are now focussed on maximising the extra time available time till the Olympics are staged.

The news of Tokyo Olympics’ postponement is yet to sink in but India’s hockey captains Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal are confident that they will take the disappointment in stride while working hard for the next one year.

“We had just finished the day’s evening session when chief coach Graham Reid informed us about the postponement of the Olympic Games,” Manpreet said.

Yet to sink in

“I think the news is yet to sink in for us. We were mentally gearing up for our first match on 25th July, so the disappointment is surely there but it is important for us to now look at the positives,” he added.

The Indian men’s and women’s teams have shaped up well over the course of the last year, winning big competitions such as the FIH Seri

es Finals and the Olympic Qualifiers in front of the home crowd in November last year.

Fine start

The men’s team made a fine start to the season this year with a fantastic outing in the Pro League while the women’s team was stoked after its tour to New Zealand earlier this year.

“Though, somewhere at the back of our minds we anticipated this could happen considering the impact COVID-19 has made across the globe, we had never let it affect our training or the intensity needed in every session,” Manpreet said.